Submersible vehicle with swept hull

Abstract

A submersible vehicle having an outer hull which defines a hull axis and appears substantially annular when viewed along the hull axis, the interior of the annulus defining a duct which is open at both ends so that when the vehicle is submerged in a liquid, the liquid floods the duct. At least part of the outer hull is swept with respect to the hull axis A buoyancy control system may be provided. Various methods of deploying and using the vehicle are described.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A submersible vehicle having an outer hull which defines a hull axis and appears substantially annular when viewed along the hull axis, the interior of the outer hull defining a duct which is open at both ends so that when the vehicle is submerged in a liquid, the liquid floods the duct, wherein the outer hull has a leading edge which is swept with respect to the hull axis and a trailing edge which is swept with respect to the hull axis. 
     
     
       2. A vehicle according to  claim 1  wherein at least part of the leading edge and trailing edge of the outer hull is swept forward with respect to the hull axis. 
     
     
       3. A vehicle according to  claim 1  wherein at least part leading edge and trailing edge of the outer hull is swept with respect to the hull axis when viewed in plan and when viewed from the side. 
     
     
       4. A vehicle according to  claim 1  wherein the leading edge and trailing edge of the outer hull have a swept-forward shape when viewed in a first direction and a swept-back shape when viewed in a second direction transverse to the first direction. 
     
     
       5. A vehicle according to  claim 1  wherein the leading edge and trailing edge of the outer hull have a swept forward portion and a swept back portion. 
     
     
       6. A submersible vehicle having an outer hull which defines a hull axis and appears substantially annular when viewed along the hull axis, the interior of the outer hull defining a duct which is open at both ends so that when the vehicle is submerged in a liquid, the liquid floods the duct, wherein at least part of the outer hull is swept with respect to the hull axis, and wherein the hull has four bow vertices and four stern vertices which are separated by 90 degrees around the periphery of the hull. 
     
     
       7. A submersible vehicle having an outer hull which defines a hull axis and appears substantially annular when viewed along the hull axis, the interior of the outer hull defining a duct which is open at both ends so that when the vehicle is submerged in a liquid, the liquid floods the duct, further comprising one or more pressure vessels housed inside the outer hull, wherein at least one of the pressure vessels appears substantially annular when viewed along the hull axis. 
     
     
       8. A vehicle according to  claim 1  wherein the vehicle has a center of gravity located in the duct and a center of buoyancy located in the duct. 
     
     
       9. A submersible toy glider having an outer hull which defines a hull axis and appears substantially annular when viewed along the hull axis, the interior of the outer hull defining a duct which is open at both ends so that when the toy glider is submerged in a liquid, the liquid floods the duct, wherein at least part of the outer hull has a leading edge which is swept with respect to the hull axis and a trailing edge which is swept with respect to the hull axis.